Adjustable clothesline support



Dec. 1, 1953 L. s. ROSE 2,661,179

ADJUSTABLE CLOTHESLINE SUPPORT Filed May 9, 1950 INVENTOR' LAWRENCE s. ROSE BY Wi /(WW2 Wm ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 1, 1953 ADJUSTABLE CLOTHESLINE SUPPORT Lawrence S. Rose, Lorain, Ohio, assignor to Lift- A-Line, Inc., Lorain, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 9, 1950, Serial N 0. 160,948

1-Claim. 1

This invention relates to adjustable support devices for clotheslines, and more particularly to a clothesline prop device.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved clothesline prop device which is very simple in construction, which involves only a few parts, and which is very easy to manipulate.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved adjustable clothesline prop device which is very inexpensive to manufacture, which is rugged in construction, which provides a secure support for a clothesline, which may be readily extended to a lengthened position, which is provided with means acting in response to the loading of the top of the device for securing the device in extended position, and which may be readily released for retraction to a shortened position whenever desired.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claim, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an improved adjustable clothesline prop device constructed in accordance with the present invention, the prop device being shown operatively adjusted to support a clothesline;

Figure 2 is a perspective View showing the bar elements of the device of Figure 1 in separated positions;

Figure 3 is an enlarged, horizontal, cross-sectional, detail view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the apertured fastening plates employed with the adjustable clothesline prop device of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary, elevational view showing the position of the tiltable apertured securing plate member of the device of Figure 1 when the device is subjected to a load, whereby the two bar elements of the device are locked against relative movement.

Referring to the drawings, the clothesline prop device comprises a first solid, elongated bar member H and a second solid, elongated bar member l2, said bar members being of similar cross sectional shape, and being preferably rectangular in cross-section. The lower ends of the bar members II and I2 are preferably pointed, as shown at E3 and M, to facilitate the insertion of either of the bar members into the ground. The top end of the bar member H is beveled, as shown at E5, and the top end of the bar member I2 is formed with a V-notch l6 and has secured thereto a hook-shaped bar member H which faces downwardly, the hook portion of the bar element ll extending laterally beyond the bar member I2 and being spaced from the opposite side surface of the bar member to allow clearance for the insertion of a clothesline into the hook-shaped member I! and thence into the V-notch 16.

The bar member l is formed near its top end with a peripheral groove l8, and the bar member I2 is formed near its lower end with a similar peripheral groove I9. The bar member H is formed at its upper portion, but spaced a substantial distance from the groove IS, with a groove 20. The outer portion of the groove 20 is of the same width as the grooves l8 and I9, but the side portions of said groove flare inwardly, as shown at 2! Designated at 22, 23 and 24 are rectangular plate members which are identical in.

shape, each plate member being formed with an aperture having a relatively large, rectangular portion 25 and a smaller rectangular portion 26, as shown in Figure 4. The rectangular plate member 22 is positioned with its smaller apertured portion 26 engaged with the peripheral groove l8 of the barmember H and with its large apertured portion 25 surrounding the bar member 12. The rectangular plate member 24 is positioned with its small apertured portion 25 located in the peripheral groove i9 of bar member l2 and with its large apertured portion 25 surrounding the bar member I l. The plate members 22 and 24 therefore hold the bar members H and 12 in face-to-face, relatively slidable engagement with each other, the plate member 22 being substantially rigidly fastened to the bar member II and the plate member 24 being substantiallyrigidly fastened to the bar member l2.

The plate member 23 is positioned with its small apertured portion 26 tiltably engaged in the grooved portions 20 and 2| of the bar member II, and with its large apertured portion 25 surrounding the bar member 12, as shown in Figure 5. It will be apparent from Figures 1 and 5 that the bar member I2 may be moved upwardly relative to the bar member H, the plate member 23 being tiltable upwardly to a horizontal position to allow bar member l2 to be lifted. However, when bar member I2 is subjected to a load or is allowed to drop, it will be engaged by the plate member 23 and said plate member will be tilted in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 5, causing the plate member to bind against the bar member 12 and to restrain said bar member against downward movement relative to the bar member ll. Therefore, the bar member 12 will be supported by the locking action of the plate member 23 in any adjusted position of the bar member l2 with respect to the bar member looking or gripping engagement with the bar member 12, said plate member is merely manually elevated to a horizontal position, as shown in dotted view in Figure 5, whereby the bar member I2 is released and will slide downwardly with respect to the bar member H.

To release the plate member 23 from its' 3 A pair of spaced staples 21 and 28 are secured to the bar member H, the staple 21 being located near the lower end of the bar member, and the staple 28 being located at the intermediate portion of said bar member I I, said staples acting as stop means cooperating with the plate member 24 carried by the bar member [2 to limit move ment of the bar member 12 beyond certain limiting positions with respect to the bar member H. When the bar member I2 is extended so that the plate element 24 engage the upper staple 28, the bar member 12 is at the upper limit of its adjust-'- ment with respect to the bar member ll. Similarly, when the plate member 24 engages the lower staple 21, th bar member I2 is in its lowest position of adjustment with respect to the bar member H.

In using the device, the clothesline,- shown at 29 in Figure 1, is engaged beneath th downwardly facing portion of the hook element I1 and the line 29 is positioned in the V-notc'h Hi; the plate member 23 being free to move upwardly toward a horizontal position to allow the bar Ineinbers H and I2 to be extended. The pointed lower end l3 of the bar member I! is driven into the ground or engaged with the ground, so that it will be held in a vertical position; As above explained, when bar member I 2 tends to descend, the plate member 23 will tilt downwardly to a locking position, preventing the upper bar 'membi l2 from sliding downwardly With respect to the lower bar member II. It will be apparent that the more heavily the line 29 is loaded, the more secure will be the gripping action of the locking plate 23, inasmuch as the frictional engagement of said locking plate with the bar member 42 will serve to increase the wedging action exerted by the plate member 23 on the bar mernber l2, and to increasingly restrain its downward movement.

With further reference to the operating characte'ri'sti'cs of the locking plate, it is to be noted that the construction which I have devised is such as to permit said locking plate to be formed identically to the plates 22, 24, thus to simpuiy the cost of manufaeture, even though the plates 22, 24 serve as guides controlling the relative slidable movement of the bar members ll, l2, and the plate 23 serves as a friction lock. In this connection, since all the plates are identical and since the top walls of the several plate=receiving grooves are all normal to the line of relative slidable movement of the bar members, the plate '22; itself serves as a guide when the bar members are moved in one direction relative to one another.

Thus, the top wall of the groove in which the locking plate is engaged limits upward swinging movement of the locking plate in such a way as to prevent the locking plate from binding the two bar members against one another when, for example, the member I2 is shifted upwardly in Figure 1. This characteristic is obtained by reason of the fact that the groove in which the locking plate is engaged has the top wall and the inclined wall converging in a direction away from the member 12 (see Figure 5), said top and inclined or oblique Walls being spaced closely apart at their convergent ends, the distance between the converging ends of the top and oblique walls being roughly equal to the thickness of the locking 7 plate allowing, of course, for freedom of rocking movement of said locking plate.

While a specific embodiment of an adjustable clothesline prop device has been disclosed in the 4 foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

An eXtendable-retractable clothesline prop comprising a pair of parallel, elongated, solidly formed bar members of rectangular cross section disposed side by side with one face of each membr in contact with one face of the other member, one of said bar members being adapted at its upper end for supportably. engaging a clothesline and the other bar member having its lower end adapted for ground engagement, said one memher having a peripheral groove near its lower end and said other member having a like groove adjacent its upper end, both grooves being arranged normally to the long axes of the members, said other member being provided with a peripheral groove intermediate its en'ds having a top wall normal to said axes and a bottom wall oblique to said axes, said top wall and oblique wall of the last-named groove converging in a direction away from said one bar member and being spaced closely apart at their convergent ends and a plurality of identical plate members having apertures formed with large, bar-inember-en circling rectangular portions formed to the full width of the bar members and smaller rectangular portions communicating with the large por tions and formed to the reduced width of the bar members at the locations of the grooves, said smaller portions of the apertures being received in the several grooves of the bar members, the first named grooves being proportioned as to width substantially to the thickness of the plate members received therein and the last-named groove having the convergent ends of the top and bottom walls thereof spaced apart a distance ap proximately equal to the thickness of its engaged plate member, so as to insure that all of said grooves will retain their associated plate members' in positions normal to the long axes of the bar members and thereby guide the bar members in effecting relative longitudinal adjustments thereof during the extension and retraction of the prop, the top wall of the last-named groove engaging the plate member associated therewith on upward movement of said one bar member so as not to interfere with said upward movement. downward movement of said one bar member under the imposition of weight placed thereupon by the supported clothesline being effective to rock the plate member of the last-named groove into engagement with the oblique wall of said lastnamed groove, thus to dispose said last named plate member obliquely to the axes of the bar members and frictionally interengage the bar members against relative longitudinal adjustment.

LAWRENCE s. ROSE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 820,927 Heiser May 15, 1906 1,876,508 Britton Sept. 6, 1932 2,413,921 Jaspersen Jan. 7, 1947 2,447,992 Turek Aug. 24, 1948 Skidmore l Sept. 27-, 1949 

